Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in pursuant to the answer to Question 91154, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) collecting and (b) publishing data on the revenue raised from the Apprenticeship Levy from (a) businesses who work across the UK but have a presence in Wales and (b) businesses primarily based in Wales.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax and NIC Receipts publication which can be found online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
HMRC does not require or collect data on where in the UK the economic activities occurs in order to collect the Apprenticeship Levy.
Receipts data based on company registered addresses do not necessarily reflect where liabilities are accrued. For example, the data on receipts from companies with registered addresses in Wales will not include businesses registered in Northern Ireland, Scotland, or England, who have a presence and pay employees in Wales.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the current real terms value of their capital borrowing powers as compared with their real terms value when they were introduced.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury ministers regularly engage with their Welsh Government counterparts, including through forums such as the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales.
We remain committed to working in partnership with the Welsh Government to ensure the smooth delivery of their funding settlement.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment has she made of the potential merits of conducting a Wales specific impact assessment on the implementation of changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ministers from several Government departments have met with organisations, including NFU Cymru and the Farmers’ Union of Wales, to discuss the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026.
The Government believes its reforms get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional or national breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The Government has also set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to pay more inheritance tax in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those estates only holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024 and it does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact.
The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding raised by the Apprenticeship Levy was passed to the Welsh Government as part of the Welsh Block Grant in each year of the past five years.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant.
The Block Grant Transparency publication breaks down all changes in the devolved governments’ block grant funding from the 2015 Spending Review up to and including Spending Review 2025.
The most recent report was published in October 2025:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the total Apprenticeship Levy funding collected by HMRC from employers (a) primarily based in Wales and (b) who work across the UK but have a headcount in Wales was transferred to the Treasury in each of the past five years.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
UIN 91154 - While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
UIN 91152 - Reliable estimates of the revenue raised from the Apprenticeship Levy from businesses who work across the UK but have a presence in Wales are not available.
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
UIN 91151 - Reliable estimates of the revenue raised from the Apprenticeship Levy from businesses primarily based in Wales are not available.
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding was raised by the Apprenticeship Levy from employers who work across the UK, but have a headcount in Wales, in each year of the past five years.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
UIN 91154 - While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
UIN 91152 - Reliable estimates of the revenue raised from the Apprenticeship Levy from businesses who work across the UK but have a presence in Wales are not available.
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
UIN 91151 - Reliable estimates of the revenue raised from the Apprenticeship Levy from businesses primarily based in Wales are not available.
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding was raised by the Apprenticeship Levy from employers primarily based in Wales in each of the past five years.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
UIN 91154 - While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
UIN 91152 - Reliable estimates of the revenue raised from the Apprenticeship Levy from businesses who work across the UK but have a presence in Wales are not available.
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
UIN 91151 - Reliable estimates of the revenue raised from the Apprenticeship Levy from businesses primarily based in Wales are not available.
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. This means that the devolved governments receive funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending as part of their block grant. It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of exempting search and rescue vehicles from Vehicle Excise Duty.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43325 on Deposit Return Schemes: VAT, for what reason her Department is considering applying VAT to unredeemed deposits in the deposit return scheme in the context of HMRC expecting the impact on exchequer receipts to be negligible.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Deposit Returns Scheme (DRS) will launch in the UK in October 2027, introducing mandatory refundable deposits on drinks containers with the aim of increasing recycling.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
The previous administration legislated for a simplification to the normal VAT rules so that VAT will only be accounted for on unredeemed deposits rather than on a deposit at the point of sale.
We remain committed to supporting the circular economy through successful implementation of the DRS, and we are keen to ensure that VAT is not a barrier to its effective operation. We are continuing to consider how best to achieve this while maintaining the integrity of the tax and will provide clarity on the VAT treatment of unreturned deposits as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference her Department's policy paper entitled Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee – 17 October 2025, what options were discussed for enhancing the fiscal flexibilities available to devolved Governments; what elements of the operation of the Barnett formula were identified as areas which could be improved; and whether a formal review of (a) Wales's fiscal framework and (b) the operation of the Barnett Formula in Wales were discussed.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
It is important that the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee remains a space for confidential discussions between governments, so it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of those discussions.
I look forward to continued engagement with devolved government finance ministers on a wide range of topics.